Bartender? Make It a Double

Just in case you missed the April 28 Tribune story by John Schmeltzer about an Absolut Vodka ad campaign in which the Cubs win a World Series in an alternate universe, you can read a May 3 story by Paul Sullivan about a vodka ad campaign in which the Cubs win a World Series in an alternate universe.

Why two stories when one was too many? In marketing, it's called The Rule of Repetition.

The Tribune archive contains 919 references to the Billy Goat, 721 references to Cubs curse, and 291 references to "lovable losers." That's how you fill a stadium while fielding a last-place team. They're supposed to lose, see. That's what's so lovable about them!

We can probably expect more stories, or perhaps a centerfold, in July when the Absolut billboards, featuring a Billy Goat, actually go up.

Or maybe the second story is just an oversight. Maybe Sullivan and his editors didn't realize Schmeltzer's story had already run. Maybe they don't read the paper. You know the Tribune's in trouble when they don't even read it in the Tower.

There is an interesting difference between the two stories: Schmeltzer's story mentions the brand name, Absolut, eleven times, not including headline (12) and caption (13). That's repetition for you. Sullivan doesn't mention Absolut at all, referring instead to "a popular brand of vodka." We'd like to see as much brand-name chastity in his Cubs coverage:

PITTSBURGH -- A popular Chicago baseball team will delay a decision on Angel Guzman's status until Friday, manager Lou Piniella said Wednesday. Guzman was scheduled to start Sunday at a popular Chicago baseball stadium.

Even better if he can work a little ethical disclosure in there:

PITTSBURGH -- A popular Chicago baseball team owned by the company that owns this newspaper will delay a decision on Angel Guzman's status until Friday, said manager Lou Piniella, an employee of the company that owns this newspaper. Guzman was scheduled to start Sunday at a popular Chicago baseball stadium owned by the company that also owns this newspaper.

Nice. Now it's almost all on the table. (There should probably be something in there about the stock-sharing plan that transforms Tribune reporters into Cubs investors). But Sullivan only seems to get modest around the booze. He has his standards. As long as he's the Cubs' house organ, his dance card is apparently full.